Anne W., a retiree in her mid-70s, says the program gave her creative outlets and modeled entrepreneurship for her kids. Three of her four children started businesses. She also got a nickname, Mimi Blackstone, that honors her farm roots in Virginia.
Chapters
This program has brought new meaning to my day to day life as a retiree and as a woman in her mid-70s. Sometimes it's easy to just say, you know, I had a great career, I have a good income, I have friends, I can travel, I can read books, I can watch tv, I can cook and eat. But those aren't the things that speak to that yearning that you might have had all these years to do something that really expressed who you are, to create something that is an expression of you at your deepest levels. I have four children and three boys and a girl, and every one of them is talented in their own way. And all of them have talked about having their own businesses. So I said, maybe if I did this and showed them that at my age I could get through it and do it and be successful at it. Even if I could just launch, you know, and put it out there and they could see that it's possible that maybe they would follow suit and do the same thing. Well, be that as it may, three of the four of them have, and it is so exciting to watch them. I was the only grandchild born on the farm in Blackstone, Virginia, in the house out of probably 50 grandchildren that they have. It was me that was born in Blackstone. He said to me, he said, you know, mom, this is your second birth and let's call it Mimi Blackstone. That honors who you are and it honors your grandparents, and that's the most meaningful thing that this program has done.
